Chapter: 118
Have you ever thought about what it might feel like to encounter the giant hornet that you’ve only heard rumors about?
Every time they flap their wings, a loud buzzing fills your ears. I’d love to set them on fire, but considering the Makai King’s face, I’ll try to hold myself back a bit.
From what I’ve gathered, using those bees for beekeeping seems to be a secret weapon or something.
If I just burn them up because I don’t like them, wouldn’t it be a hassle for everyone else?
“These are known as killer hornets to others. The stinger at the tip of their tails is coated with poison, and their forelegs, shaped like sickles, can easily slice open skin.”
Killer hornets. Murder wasps. Monsters just as the name suggests.
“They’re sensitive to smells, so if someone unfamiliar approaches, they’ll be on high alert… But if I let them catch my scent first, they won’t attack aggressively. So I’ll go first.”
With that, the Makai King lowered his body and moved towards the tent.
Wait, is the king really doing this dangerous task himself? Was there no one else he could send?
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the guards standing around letting out big sighs. Hmm, it seems the king doing stuff like this isn’t exactly a rare sight.
“The king’s movements look quite familiar. There’s a huge bee buzzing around, threatening, but he’s boldly moving forward.”
Just like the hero said, the Makai King approaches the tent where the bees are as though he’s done it countless times before.
The bees, in response, extend their sickle-shaped forelegs and the stingers at the ends of their tails, readying themselves for a fight.
They seem like they’re set to strike if even the slightest trouble pops up.
That defensive behavior ended when the Makai King stood by the tent for a moment before turning back.
The furious buzzing of the bees seemed to slow down a bit.
“That’s wildly reckless. It’s like he’s throwing his life away.”
“Well, of course. It’s a method that relies on dangerous monsters from the get-go. It’s bound to be risky.”
If they were just regular bees, even if they stung you, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But these gigantic bees… Their sickle-like forelegs could probably tear muscle apart.
In that sense, this king must think he’s got multiple lives to spare!
“Anyway, now that they’ve caught my scent, I don’t think they’ll attack anyone else who approaches.”
“Uh, do we really have to go see this?”
I feel like I’ve seen enough already.
“Well, they may look fierce, but they’re actually quite gentle. They even live a nomadic life with us.”
“Bees living a nomadic life?”
Bees that build their homes in one spot living a nomadic life? As if they’d just abandon their home and run away?
With what I know, that sounds absurd.
“Alright then, let’s go see the Killer Queen.”
“So the queen of the killer hornets is called the Killer Queen?”
For a moment, an image of a mustachioed singer who has a fantastic singing voice and a pink cat-like villain flashed through my mind, but that’s just a silly thought.
Ahem. Anyway.
“This way.”
The king approached the entrance of the tent, carefully lifting the flap, and went inside first.
Then the hero followed him in, and finally, I trudged in after them.
“Whoa…”
Inside a large wooden box, killer hornets were constantly buzzing in and out.
Wait a minute, if I look closer, the bottom of this wooden box has wheels! What’s up with that?
“It’s not like they were to be transported in a carriage or something.”
“How could you load something this huge onto a cart? They might as well just attach wheels from the start.”
Hmm, I guess that makes sense. Without any cranes or hoists, how the heck would you get something this big onto a cart?
Ah, maybe a giant could do it, as long as they don’t realize that the box is crawling with bees!
“Anyway, since the house kept getting bigger, we discussed and debated a lot, and in the end, decided to just add wheels to the house.”
It’s like a time-traveling camping trailer!
“Oh, this isn’t the time for that.”
The king approached the large wooden box and poked a corner with his finger.
“Are you trying to provoke the bees?”
“Not really. I’m just calling my friend inside.”
And just like that…
“Kkiiii…”
A bee that was much larger than the others appeared, making a small sound.
Is this the Killer Queen? Hmm… But why doesn’t it have wings?
“Does the queen bee normally not have wings?”
“No? It usually does. This one just happens to be like this.”
The king watched the queen bee, which kept moving its antennae as if smelling, and smiled.
“Hmm. Luckily, it seems healthy. Alright.”
The king pulled something from his waistband and handed it to the Killer Queen.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a snack made by mixing honey with flour. This one really enjoys it.”
As the king mentioned, the Killer Queen was gobbling up the honey snacks like there’s no tomorrow. Mmm… The taste of honey made from their own hive! So sweet!
Well, I guess this too is a sort of mutually beneficial relationship, huh?
“But how on earth did you end up with such a relationship with a monster like that?”
“A relationship like that, you say…”
I caught a quiet sigh from the hero standing behind me, but I ignored it. Completely ignored it.
What I really want to know is how he tamed the monster!
“Well, I was lucky.”
“Lucky?”
I shot the Makai King a skeptical look.
“No, for real, even if you make that face, it genuinely was luck.”
By this time, the king had the Killer Queen perched on his hand.
Hmm. Even if we’re close, it’s still a monster… Is this really okay?
“This was a few years ago. As usual, when our livestock had eaten up all the grass and we were about to move to another location… That’s when I ran into this one.”
The Makai King’s gaze went misty, as if he were reminiscing. Whoa, stop with the reminiscence already!
That kind of thing is for the main characters only!
“Just give a brief explanation. Briefly.”
Don’t let the story drag on. It’s time to cut to the chase.
Hmm…? What should I be cutting or skipping?
I tilted my head, but ultimately didn’t understand. Hmm… Did some odd vibe come from another world? Just a trivial matter. Nothing big.
“Briefly… Hmm. I happened upon the Killer Queen when it had a torn wing, and since it was weak and couldn’t put up a good fight, I brought it home, kept it confined, and fed it a bunch of this white liquid I made, and that’s how I tamed it. Of course, before it was properly tamed, it had quite the vicious personality, so it even bit my finger.”
The king showed off a scar on his middle finger.
Hey, don’t just hold up your middle finger! It sounds like sass! Not that it has any particularly bad meaning in this context or anything.
“Anyhow, after that, since it couldn’t build a nest properly without wings, I worked hard to help it out, and as a result, I managed to tame it.”
Eh, um… Did he really tame a monster?
How? Aren’t monsters usually driven mad by the dark fragments?
Was my previous deduction wrong? Or is this case unique?
“Well, I suspect this one is a unique case, but… Strange enough, that trait has been passed down to its offspring.”
“Its offspring?”
“Yes. Despite its looks, this one’s a pro at splitting off multiple queen bees.”
The Makai King grinned as if he was the one who achieved it.
“Newly born Killer Queens seem to resemble this one quite a lot, and they won’t attack unless provoked first.”
“Whoa…”
Isn’t that a success in breeding? A monster in bee form with reduced aggression.
“Well, the forelegs and stingers on its kids are still lethal, you know. Especially the venom in the stinger; if it’s not treated properly, it can be fatal within a day.”
The Makai King spoke calmly, but… Isn’t that an extremely dangerous poison?
Is this really okay? The king? Getting cozy with a venomous monster?
Is this really fine???
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The couple could nourish themselves with the tubers dug up by the dog.
Whether steamed or baked with butter, the tubers taste great. As long as they were careful about the toxins in the sprouts, there were no issues with the underground tubers.
The couple decided to call these tubers “potatoes.”
“Woof!”
“Yes, thank you.”
The dog kept going out and bringing back random things. Sometimes it was delicious fruit, and at other times, it was hard salt rocks.
Then one day, the dog returned with something else.
“Oh my, what’s this?”
“Kiing…”
What the dog had brought was a big hornet.
It had a dangerous stinger and was all messed up from getting hit by people.
“Woof! Woof!”
The dog seemed to be saying it wanted to help the hornet.
“Dog, this hornet is dangerous. But do you still want to help it?”
“Woof!”
And so the couple ended up helping the genuinely dangerous hornet.
– Classic fairy tale, The Grateful Dog.
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